Turtle Crossing

The other day while working in our yard I noticed a turtle in the middle of the street that runs in front of our house. I went over, picked it up and moved it to a nearby grassy area so it would not be run over by a car. As I returned to what I was doing, a question about that turtle popped into my head: "Suppose it actually was heading to the side of the street opposite from where I had placed it?" Perhaps the turtle was on a journey to a specific destination and I had just moved it back to its starting point. Obviously, I had and have no idea if that's true though I have to assume the turtle was not wandering around aimlessly. (I always thought people were the only creatures that did that. Or maybe we just blog instead.)

Through no fault of its own, the turtle was not communicating with me as to what it was doing or where it was heading. Consequently, I guessed. And it is very possible I guessed incorrectly. As a result, I may have made the turtle's journey longer and more difficult than it needed to be. This little encounter with the turtle got me to thinking how often many us make incorrect guesses or assumptions about other people in terms of what they are doing, where they are heading or even what they are thinking because we have not attempted to communicate with them; or they have not communicated their intentions or thoughts with us. I bet this happens a lot. As a result, a great deal of miscommunication occurs that could easily be avoided if only we made the effort to connect with each other.

When miscommunication does occur, a void or hole is created many of us feel a need to fill. For instance, "my friend has not returned my email in a few days and I don't know why. I think that's rude, so now I'm angry with them for treating me that way." In this example, the person has filled the void of not knowing why their email has not been answered with feelings of hurt and anger. Never mind they do not know why the other person has not responded to the email as quickly as was expected. Here's another quick example: a boss reorganizes their staff without offering explanations for their actions. The hole created by this action without explanation is filled with feelings of confusion and possible resentment that would probably be minimized if only an effort had been made to properly communicate th actions. One only has to look at the front page of any newspaper these days to see how prone we as a species are to making misjudgments and mistakes. Perhaps if we made more of an effort to be open with each other, then the level of frustration and even tension in our lives would be reduced. In the meantime, I sure hope that turtle reached its destination alright.